What could be more pure – more potent – than a 10 year old professing love to another 10 year old?
Working with children fills my heart with joy every single day.
Personal Success
Right Action
There is a lot of action being taken nowadays: marches, boycotts, and lawsuits. People are unhappy and want to take action. Action can be good. It sounds better than just sitting on your tush, complaining. Complaining is definitely not productive.
In your own life, you might be pondering an action to take: to breakup with a lover, to make a career change, or to move out of the country. You ask yourself, is it the right thing to do?
In Buddhism, there is a saying, “Make right action.” By “right,” it is meant ideal or wise. It is not meant to be taken as the opposite of the Western concept of “wrong.” It means your decision comes from a place of calm, peace and compassion. And by action, it is all action, not just major decisions.
When you make dinner, serve it lovingly. When you drive, do it compassionately. When you work, do it mindfully. This will add up to a good life for you.
A hint: your action does not have its roots in anger or sadness.
So. Think about your choices. Which action is right action?
Garbage In, Garbage Out
I take walking breaks between teaching classes. I used to grab my little iPod mini (which replaced my Sony Walkman). I got tired of listening to my music. So I plugged my headphones into my cell phone and listened to TedTalks and informational videos on YouTube. The change has been tremendous!
I’ve learned about meditation, motivation, education, nutrition and much more. Because I learn during my walks, I have more to offer my students, my children, my spouse and friends. Now, my walks provide mental as well as physical energy.
What are you listening to? What are you reading? You’re in control of the input. Now – more than ever – there is “information” and “noise.” Be mindful about what goes through those ears of yours and into your beautiful mind.
A Good Time
I hosted the 7th/8th grade winter dance at school tonight.
For two weeks, about 20 of them painted the stage and turned tissue paper into flowers. They taped paper vines to walls and duct taped strings of lights to the basketball hoops. They stayed for hours after school. They shopped for their outfits.
At last! The Dance. Watching the kids come in, shy at first -dressed in their finest-was humbling.
A group of 13 and 14 year old kids. They want to have a good time. They care about one another and just want to laugh and dance. Boys shyly ask girls to dance. They dance and girls sigh in relief. First slow dance. First picture with a crush.
They hold hands and run around in circles, laughing to their favorite songs.
They snack on chips and drink punch.
They dream of high school, college, falling in love, getting jobs.
I hope we don’t let them down.
The 24 Hours Test
My students do a timed-writing exercise every day. Most of the time, the prompt is student generated. One of the prompts they came up with:
“If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do?”
Every single student imagined a day full of fun; reckless abandonment of any homework, tests and responsibilities. I’m sure adults would come up with something similar. Each student had a different definition of fun: a day at the beach, a day at Grandpa’s, or even just staying at home with family and their pet.
Sometimes a sense of urgency brings things in focus. What would you do? Who would you spend it with? Are you taking anyone for granted? Is there something you’re yearning to do?
How can you bring some of that to your day/week/month?
Perhaps you go to bed each night, thoroughly satisfied with how you spent your day. That is the ultimate goal, isn’t it?
“Not Knowing” Is OK
I gave my 5th graders a writing assignment today. I already knew what they’d say after our poetry lesson and the directions. “I don’t know what to write about!”
Literally, I had to turn away ten students from my desk. They are so frightened to face a blank piece of paper and not know “the answer” immediately. They wanted me to tell them what to write.
I found myself saying, “It’s OK to sit in anguish.” I was joking, of course, what I meant was,
“It’s OK to sit without knowing.”
You don’t know what will happen tomorrow.. You don’t know what you’ll be when you grown up. You don’t know who you will marry (or if you will)!
So sit with not knowing. Be quiet and still. Let it come to you.
How to Control Your Motivation
When I was in 6th grade, I learned about the push and pull factors for migration. People who migrated because their country was in a war, for example, migrated for “push” reasons. They were pushed out: Food, jobs, and security were scarce.
Most people who came to America during the Gold Rush came for “pull” factors: the opportunity for wealth, better living conditions and greater security.
When it comes to your personal motivation, are you being driven from something or toward something? Being driven to eat better and exercise because you had a heart attack (push) is mighty powerful, but so is choosing a better lifestyle because you want more energy and you want to live longer.
If you want to be motivated to make a change, consider the possible push and pull factors. Make a list – make it specific – and exhaust the possibilities.
Something to Say
I was watching an old (actually, timeless) interview with Quentin Tarantino. He was talking about his life before becoming a film maker. Did you know he worked in a video store? He was a clerk! His old life was very comfortable and he admitted he was pretty happy.
And then he realized he had “something to say.”
He was better than his friends, which was not hard to do, since they were drug addicts with no ambition. He got real. He realized that he could continue to live his life watching free movies behind a counter and be superior to all those around him OR…work towards his dreams of being a filmmaker.
And the rest is history.
Do you have something to say? What one step could you take – NOW – towards your dream?
Do it!
The Paradox of People
David Marcu
Gun sales have dropped since we elected a President who supports gun rights.
When you’re always available to talk to your crush, he doesn’t really want to talk to you.
Telling people what to do often results in rebellion.
Trying hard to fit in will get you kicked out.
Not getting the results you want with people? Maybe you just need to relax.
Discipline + Solitude
It’s a busy world. Now, more than ever, we have “noise”: news, videos, people in cafes talking, television, the Internet, etc.
I’m a teacher and my work is noisy. When I visit my husband at his corporate job, I’m always struck by the quiet in his office. It’s so quiet! Sometimes, I am envious.
I love my job with children, my life as mother to two daughters and I love getting together with friends.
But I always crave solitude. I want to be alone to read, write and just feel calmness.
Fortunately, I am married to a man who will help me out. He will take the girls to violin lessons without me if I need some seclusion.
Seclusion. Solitude. Loneliness. Some people like to be alone. I do. I think this is a good thing. It means you like yourself!
Demand some privacy. Detach yourself from social media and people. It’s OK. In fact, I’d argue that you NEED it, you need to know yourself, your self. Make it a priority.
Kismet 